If you cross the border with your phone you will be in a totally
different region and face extremely high charges for roaming
etc etc
My friend who is an expert on this topic says you should get your
phone unlocked by Verizon or anybody with the expertise and then
in Canada buy a Canada SIM card so you pay Canadian rates . Without
that you will pay dearly. Can behundreds of dollars even without making a call.
Personally I have am iPhone. But have the SIM card removed . I have the
iCall app installed and can make free phone calls out only as long as I am in a wifi access zone . Works fine for my limited needs

I use AT&T GoPhone when I am in Mexico. Their rates for Canada are also much better than using your US Verizon phone in Canada. You could also buy a cheap unlocked cell phone and purchase a Canada SIM card.

You will pay .69 cents a minute for calls in Canada on your Verizon phone. You can add a 5 dollar a month charge to your plan that can be canceled when you get home and get 1,000 minutes and free texting while there.

I have made the trip North twice and both times I had my Verizion phone, but tried not to use it in Canada. I ended up using SKYPE and that is the only way to go in Canada or south down in Baja or mainland Mexico.

Not to be rude, but much of the rural bits of Canada have little to no cell service anyway (that's not a shot, it's actually just the way it is, not many cell towers to spoil your views). A "SPOT" might be a better bet for safety, or rent a sat. phone for a trip. Just sayin.

Last year I traveled to Ontario doing the lake Superior tour in August and prior to that I did a trip into Manitoba in May. I used my phone everyday for 10 days in Canada without calling ahead to Verizon and letting them know I was traveling. I expected my phone not to work at first but then when it did I assumed that I was going to get slammed with charges. I still used it for an hour plus each day checking in with family.

My next bill showed nothing different. No excessive charges, nothing that indicated that I was using it in Canada. I did that for both trips and never got charged.